With respect to tobacco the article states ‘Overall cigarette smoking is linked to one in five deaths in the US each year – according to CDC estimates for average annual fatalities based on deaths between 2005 and 2009.

Nearly 42,000 of the total 480,000 deaths from smoking are caused by secondhand smoke’.

It is important to note that the Free Thought Project does not advocate for the prohibition of any substance as it always leads to more death – more crime and more abuse.

However for a substance to be linked to 20 percent of the annual deaths and still remain legal perplexes us here at TFTP given the state’s claim of ostensibly protecting society.

But we understand that the deal the tobacco companies made with the federal government (1997) in what some have called an extortion deal – promised to give the federal government a steady stream of income for generations – so long as the substance remains legal.